Welcome to the Button Tree Tutorial

Hello there! Welcome to this tutorial on how to make your own wonderful, beautiful button tree. It's such a lovely, meditative project.

I found my inspiration in an old blog post, which was in turn inspired by another, and I wanted to continue spreading the creative love by making a new, detailed guide with plenty of images to show the whole process.

I've actually made two trees. My first one was simple, with untwisted wires. But for my second tree, I twisted the wires, and I highly recommend it! It makes the tree much sturdier and gives it a fantastic, gnarled, realistic look. I twisted all the wires by hand, which I'll show you how to do.

First tree

Yes, it takes some time, but I just put on a podcast, walked around, and twisted away. Part of it I did in lovely silence. Working with your hands instead of sitting in front of a computer is so liberating and relaxing.

So, go ahead and light some candles, put on your favorite music or podcast, or just enjoy the quiet. Let's meditate our way to an astonishing button tree.

What You'll Need

Here are the supplies I used for my tree.

• Wire: About 20 meters of 0.5 mm thick wire. I used a "Coffee/Bronze" color, which looks fantastic.
• Buttons: A lovely collection of colored buttons. (Mine are from thebuttonary.com).
• Wire Cutting Pliers: Any pair will do.
• Measuring Tape: To get your wires just right.
• A DIY Twisting Tool: This is my secret weapon! I used a bottle opener with a hole in it. You just need something sturdy with a hole or hook that you can loop the wires through and twist easily with one hand. (A power tool would be faster, but I don't own one, and the handmade method is part of the charm!)

Let's Begin!

Step 1: Cut Your Wires

First, let's get our wire ready. I measured and cut 21 pieces of wire, each 90 cm long.

My finished tree ended up being 27 cm tall and 25 cm wide, but your measurements will vary depending on how you bend and shape your branches, making your tree truly one-of-a-kind.

Step 2: Choose Your Buttons

Now for the fun part! I chose different green buttons to be the leaves and a few shades of red to look like little fruits.

Since we cut 21 wires, you'll need 21 buttons. I found it helpful to group them into 7 little piles with 3 buttons in each. This helps you plan how your final branches will look.

Step 3: Attach a Button to Each Wire

Take one of your 90 cm wire pieces and fold it exactly in half.

Thread the two loose ends through the front of your button. I used 4-hole buttons and threaded the wires diagonally (through opposite corners). Make sure that when the button is snug in the middle fold, the two loose ends of the wire are even.

Step 4: Twist Your First "Branch" (The Meditative Part)

Here's where the magic happens. Take your first button-on-a-wire.

Take the two loose wire ends and secure them to your twisting tool. (I looped my wire ends through the hole on my bottle opener a couple of times and gave it a little twist to secure it).

Hold the button firmly in the fingers of your left hand.

With your right hand, grab your "tool" (the bottle opener) and start twisting!

I counted 100 half-turns (which is 50 full rotations). This gives a nice, tight twist.

Once twisted, detach the wires from your tool. The very ends that were looped on your tool might not be as perfectly twisted as the rest—that's totally okay! This part will become the roots, and roots are meant to be a little wild and rustic.

Now, take a sip of your tea, put your podcast back on, and repeat this twisting process for all 21 wires. You'll soon have a lovely little pile of 21 button branches.

Step 5: Make Your "Stems"

You should now have 21 individual twisted button-wires.

Divide them into your 7 groups, with 3 button-wires in each group.

Take your first group of three. Hold them together. Decide where you want the branches to "split." Leave a couple of centimeters near the buttons untwisted—these will be your little branches.

I used my pliers to grip all three wires firmly just below the point where I wanted the twisting to start.

Secure the bottom ends of all three wires to your twisting tool, just like you did before.

Now, twist them all together! You'll need to use a little more strength this time. You don't need to twist as much; I did about 40 half-turns.

When you're done, you should have seven thicker "stems," each with three beautiful button "branches" at the top.

Step 6: Build Your Tree Trunk (The Grand Finale!)

Take a deep breath and gather your strength. This part is the most fun, but also a bit of a workout for the hands!

First, choose one stem. This will be the very top of your tree.

Next, take a second stem. Place it just under the top branches. I placed mine about 2 cm below the top set.

Now, twist the entire length of the second stem around the first stem (which is now your main trunk).

Important Root Tip: As you twist this second stem around the trunk, you can leave its bottom part untwisted. This part will flare out to become one of your tree's roots!

Keep going! Take your third stem, place it a little further down the trunk, and twist it around, leaving its bottom end out to be another root.

Repeat this process, adding one stem at a time, twisting it around the growing trunk, and leaving the bottom parts free to form a beautiful root system.

This is the most challenging part. If your hands get tired or you find it hard to twist all the stems together, please ask for help! I personally would be delighted if a neighbor came over and asked me to help finalize their masterpiece.

Once all your stems are attached, fan out the roots at the bottom so your tree stands proud, and gently arrange your button branches.

And there you have it. Your very own, handcrafted button tree. I hope you loved this little project as much as I did.